After a two week wait Liverpool today had the opportunity to get the 3-1 defeat at Southampton out of their system and they took it, winning 2-1 at Aston Villa, coming from a goal down to do it.
Their were plenty of chances in the first half for both sides, Benteke's well hit finish meaning Villa lead at the break despite Suarez missing a couple of decent chances. The Uruguayan played well today and was a constant threat, but his finishing was nowhere near as clinical as it has been for the majority of the past year. He's the Premier League's top scorer this season but he's also probably had more shots off target than anybody else.
We got back on level terms within a couple of minutes of the second half starting, Jordan Henderson coolly finishing Philippe Coutinho's perfectly weighted through ball. For me Coutinho looks more comfortable playing wide in a 4-3-3 like today rather than in a 4-4-2. He's made and scored goals since arriving in January and is looking like a good piece of business. Henderson has more goals and more assists this season than Tom Cleverly who has become an England regular, despite our man only playing about half as many minutes. There's obviously more to a player than a few stats but Henderson is going the right way about making an impression on those he needs to impress, his attitude and improving performances are winning over his doubters among the Liverpool supporters.
Our winner came when Suarez cut inside from the right and was hacked down, Steven Gerrard stepping up to place the resulting penalty right into the bottom corner. Our results have picked up significantly since the new FA directive was introduced midway through the season, meaning any foul on Luis Suarez inside the penalty area will be punished by the award of a penalty kick. Our last two victories have come with a Gerrard penalty as the winning goal, makes you wonder just how many points we would be on had referees done their jobs properly earlier on. A few minutes after hitting the decisive goal Gerrard was again the man of the moment, a great headed clearance off the line from Benteke keeping us in front.
We've now won five out of our last six matches, something I doubt any other Premier League side can say. The players are getting more familiar with what the manager wants from them and our system is working more often than not at the moment. Our defence still doesn't fit right yet and it certainly feels like our opponents need fewer chances to score against us than we need to score against them, but as long as we keep scoring we'll be alright until the manager gets the chance to sort it out in the summer. Only twice in our last twenty three games have we failed to find the back of the net, managing eight clean sheets over the same period.
A quick word on today's opposition before I finish. I like what Villa are doing bringing through talented young players and I hope they stay up, they're a good club with a squad that will be capable of making an impact in a few seasons if they can all stay together. I'm not quite sure why their fans were booing Stewart Downing today, a man they got £20 million for, but that's up to them I suppose. They have some players who look full of potential and Benteke up front is a monster. If they manage to avoid relegation this season I think they'll finish much higher next time around.
Watching Villa today makes me wonder what we'd look like without Gerrard in our team and looking at them is a harsh reminder of the fact we'll have to replace him sooner or later. If we don't identify a replacement and just wait to see if Henderson, Joe Allen or Jonjo Shelvey step up we could get caught out big time. I'm Sure Brendan Rodgers is as aware as anybody of the importance of our captain and he will deal with the situation as soon as possible, but plans need to be put into place now for when that day comes in a few years time.
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